


To Those Whose Hearts Have Shattered

by dragonflare137



Category: Pandora Hearts
Genre: AU, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 07:09:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3318593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonflare137/pseuds/dragonflare137
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU Lottie's life has always been a motion from one hell to another. At home, she has to live with the fact that her abusive, alcoholic father hated her beyond all belief. At school, because of a silly rumor she is considered the slut of the school. Even with her two best friends, her hope was slowly draining away. When her world collided with another, nothing was the same. [Written for The PH Big Bang]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_*BIIIIIINNG *_

" _Ah good morning students, this is Principal Rainsworth speaking. I would like to personally welcome all returning students and new freshmen joining us this year at Pandora Academy. I speak for everyone on the staff when I say that I'm very glad to have you all with us here. We are happy to aid you in your pursuit of knowledge, and wish on you the greatest experience this year. That's all that I have to say for now. Have a great first day students, and have an amazing year."_

The faint echo of the morning announcement reverberated through the empty hallways. Most students were already in their classes, but there were some stragglers who were struggling to look for their 1st period classes. Doors could be heard opening and closing shut as people found where they were suppose to go.

Brisk, light steps resounded off the blank white walls of the Academy as a girl walked quickly towards her classroom. Unlike most of those who still wandered the halls, she knew exactly where she was going since she was in her fourth and last year in high school. The reason she was late was because she didn't really feel the need to rush to her first class and wanted to take her time getting there.

The girl's bright pink eyes scanned the hallway, and stopped when she spotted a door with a sign that read "103." Her heels clicked loudly as she walked slowly up to the door and breathed in deeply. She quickly composed herself before she pushed on the door, and walked with her head high into her classroom.

The room was almost as silent as the halls when she walked in. All eyes darted onto her, including the bright green eyes of her 1st period instructor. The girl nodded her head to the teacher, and he simply nodded back and said, "You must be Miss Lottie Valon. Don't worry about being late, it's still the first day. I'm Mr. Vessalius, welcome."

Lottie nodded her head once again, and then walked to a seat in the back of the room. As she walked past the other students, she could hear them whispering, but she ignored them. She knew what they were talking about, and really didn't care what they had to say.

Sliding into her seat, Lottie's eyes glanced between the two people that sat to her left and her right. To her left was a girl with short orange-ish brown hair and brilliant blue eyes. She had a strange tattoo on the side of her face, and she was also quite short for her age. It was Lily Baskerville, Lottie's best friend since the start of middle school. On Lottie's right was a boy with spiky auburn hair, and eyes that always seemed to be shut. He had the same tattoo that Lily had on her face as well, and both of his ears were pierced with small red studs. His name was Fang Baskerville, Lottie's other friend from middle school and Lily's adopted brother.

Both of them were looking at Lottie with questioning looks. She knew what they were wondering.  _"Why were you late this time Lottie?"_ In response, she shrugged her shoulders and gave them a look that said,  _"Cause I felt like it."_ Lily just rolled her eyes, while Fang sighed as if he were expecting the answer he got.

Through the rest of the class, they listened to Mr. Vessalius as he talked what was expected of them this year. He passed out a syllabus for the class, which happened to be History. He talked about that for awhile and by the time he was finished, the bell had rung for the end of the period.

"Again I would like to thank you all for being here today," said Mr. Vessalius as all the students packed their things and got up to leave the class. "I hope the rest of your day goes by smoothly and I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

The three in the back decided to wait until everyone else had left before they themselves left the room. Walking side by side, Lottie, Fang and Lily headed slowly towards their next class. Luckily for them, they all shared 2nd period together as well, and it wasn't too far away from their first.

"Lottie you can't be late like that all the time you know," griped Lily as she poked Lottie's arm playfully. "It's our last year and it won't look good on your transcript if you are late all the time."

"Don't worry about it Lily," Lottie replied. "It was just a one time thing. I left late this morning and I didn't really feel like rushing." She rubbed a hand through her light pink hair and said, "Plus, I guess I wasn't really that excited to get here in the first place."

"It's understandable Lottie," said Fang, who put his hand on the girls shoulder and squeezed it gently. "As long as it doesn't happen again."

Lottie chuckled and patted his hand. "Always the one to make me feel bad, aren't you Fang?"

"I'm just looking out for you Lottie," replied Fang with a laugh of his own. "And if I'm not the one to tell you how to improve, then who will?" He took his hand off of Lottie and pushed both in the pockets of his red jacket.

"Good point," Lottie said as she crossed her arms and pouted at Fang. "But you don't have to be so blunt about it."

"But if I'm not blunt, then you won't catch on to it," replied Fang. Lottie gave him a sour look and swiftly punched him in the arm. He rubbed his arm and simply chuckled at Lottie's reaction.

"Ah don't be so mean to her Fang," said Lily. She smiled devilishly and said, "It's not her fault that she's so dense."

"Don't make me punch you too Lily," replied Lottie, who was glaring at the laughing girl. "I'm not that oblivious to things."

"You keep telling yourself that," giggled Lily. She ducked away from Lottie, dodging a poorly aimed fist to her shoulder. "You missed me!" she taunted.

"Yeah well I won't miss next time," challenged Lottie. She looked up and noticed that their next class was right in front of them. "We'll have to finish this up after English class you hear."

"You got it Strawberry Head," teased Lily as she ran ahead into the class.

"You're on shrimp," Lottie huffed under her breath as she and Fang sped up to catch up with Lily. Even though she was on time this time, just like before when Lottie entered the room whispers started to circulate around the room and everyone's eyes were on her. Yet just like before she completely ignored it and followed Fang to the back of the room where Lily was already situated.

The class was the same as before. The teacher passed out papers, and talked about what they as students were expected to do in this class. Lottie could feel herself lulling to sleep from the teacher's boring monotone voice, but luckily for her the class seemed to end as quickly as it began.

Unfortunately for Lottie, she didn't share anymore classes with Lily or Fang, so after English ended they went their separate ways. As she walked alone, Lottie didn't have her friends to distract her from the stares that she was getting from nearly everyone she passed. She tried her hardest to ignore them like she did so easily earlier before, but as time when on it was getting extremely annoying. It took all her strength not to glare back at them and ask them what they wanted.

The rest of the day went by agonizingly slow, and for Lottie it was complete torture. Every class was the same boring thing, and Lottie had no one to talk to in order to help her release her boredom. Not only that, but she got the same looks every time she walked into a room, and she was beginning to reach her breaking point. If it wasn't for the fact that she could talk to her friends during lunch, she would have lost it before the end of the day.

When the last bell finally rang at the end of the day, Lottie inwardly sighed in relief. She gathered up her things, and then headed out after everybody had left. She wished that she could go say bye to Lily and Fang, but they rode the bus and had to rush to get there on time. Lottie lived close enough to the school that walking wasn't a problem.

Lottie decided that she would use the bathroom before she left for home. Her stomach wasn't feeling to well today, which was part of the reason she had left her house later then usual this morning. As she finished and was washing her hands, Lottie heard the door squeak open loudly, and she she froze in place. She glanced over to side and saw that three girls had walked in. Lottie recognized all of them, but she didn't care enough about them to remember names. One girl had long curly black hair and her brown eyes conveyed arrogance. The others both had dark brown hair, and their eyes were the same shade of green. Lottie hadn't realized it before, but the girls were twins.

She tried to keep herself out of sight, but that was impossible in this setting. The black haired girl spotted her immediately, and an amused smirk grew on her face. She was still staring at Lottie as she tapped the shoulders of the other girls to show them who she had just found. With a confidant stride, the girl walked up to Lottie and stared her straight in the eyes.

"Well who do we have here girls," asked the girl in a disgustingly sugary voice. "If it isn't Little Miss Lottie, the Closet Whore of the school."

"Don't call me that," Lottie replied angrily through her teeth. "In fact don't talk to me at all."

"Oh it looks like she's got some fight in her girls," taunted the girl. "I bet the guys she's been sleeping with love that."

"Yeah and just look at those bruises on her arms," teased one of the twins. "I bet she got those from not being good enough for him."

"Will you just shut up already," Lottie growled as she rolled down her sleeves to cover up the bruises. She normally had them covered, but she rolled up her sleeves when she washed her hands. "You are really starting to get on my nerves."

"You really should learn to watch what you say," replied the black haired girl menacingly. "I really thought the guys would have told you this already." Then, with one swift motion, the girl swiped her hand across Lottie's face, and scratched a small cut down the side of her cheek with her nails. Lottie stumbled back from the force of the impact, but she caught herself on the sink.

"How pathetic, one would think that you could actually take a hit," laughed the girl. "Oh well. Girls lets get out of here, I feel tainted already." With one last laugh from the three, they exited the bathroom, and left Lottie standing there holding her cheek.

The rage in Lottie's chest grew and grew until she couldn't contain it anymore. All day, she heard the same thing.  _"Is that her? Is that the whore?" "Why do those two hang out with her? She's probably just trying to get in bed with him." "Why is she even here?"_

She just couldn't hold it back anymore. All that anger in her heart finally came out in the forms of tears that fell freely down her red face. Why? Why did she have to suffer from all of this? Why is it her that had to deal with this torture everyday of every year. It just wasn't fair, but at this point Lottie had stopped believing in fair. She only knew of the cruel.

Lottie breathed in and out in order to try and compose herself before she had to leave the "safety" of the bathroom. When she had stopped crying, she quickly washed her face down with water to get rid of the tear marks and make her eyes less red. Luckily, the scratch wasn't bleeding to badly, so she just patted it lightly with a paper towel and left it as it was.

When she felt like she was sufficiently cleaned up, Lottie picked up her bag and left the bathroom. She walked at a quick pace so that she could finally leave the hell she knew as school. In order to avoid any eye contact, Lottie kept her eyes to the ground. Her hand had subconsciously moved to her face, and was now rubbing the cut with her thumb. She was so focused on leaving the school, and staying out of sight that when she rounded a corner, she didn't notice the other body that was coming from the opposite direction.

With a loud thump, Lottie and the person she ran into bonked heads, and were both knocked down to the ground. She rubbed her now throbbing head as she heard the other person groan in pain. Lottie looked up at her collision buddy. Lottie didn't know that many people in the school by name, but everybody in the school knew the name of the boy with white hair and a single showing red eye. The boy she had run into was none other then the infamous Xerxes Break.

The only reason Lottie knew his name was because he was one of "them," A.K.A part of the most popular group on the school whose every member was somehow tied to one of the five richest families in the city of Reveille: Vessalius, Rainsworth, Nightray, Barma, and Baskerville. The Vessalius's were known as either savvy businessmen, or magnificent teachers. The Nightrays dealt more with things from the underground world. The Barma family was know as being the smartest out of everyone. They owned a corporation known as IntelTech, which worked closely with the school in order to create things that can help raise intelligence levels. The Rainsworth were known for their leadership roles in the community, including Principle of Pandora Academy. The last family, the Baskervilles, was the richest and most powerful of them all. They are huge philanthropists who had adopted many children who have had no where to go. The heads of the family have only two biological children, and the rest are all adopted, which includes Lily and Fang. Even the group was from the riches families, they weren't all that stuck up. In fact, they usually kept to themselves, and left everyone else alone. Even so, everyone in the school treated them like gods, and some even try their best to get into their circle of friends, though it never worked. Lottie never really cared for them all that much since they didn't bother her at all, so she never tried to get in the good with them.

Just because he was treated like a god by the other girl in the school, that didn't mean that Lottie was going to let this Xerxes Break off the hook so easily. "Hey watch where you're going!" yelled Lottie as she shot a pointed glare at the boy. He pouted and looked at her with his wine red eye, but the pouting look was quickly replace by one of surprise. He was about to say something, but before he could Lottie quickly pushed herself to her feet and walked away fuming.

"Really if he didn't cover half of his face he could see where he's going, or at least  _hear_ that someones about to walk into him," mumbled Lottie under her breathe. She knew that it was her fault to for not looking in front of her, but she was too mad to take the blame on herself. For all she cared, she could have been out of the school already if he hadn't of bumped into her like that, and that's all that mattered to her right now.

Luckily for her, the little distraction was actually a good thing. There was nobody else in the halls, and Lottie was able to freely walk out of the school. Because of certain complications that could possibly arise due to her "relationship" with the other students, Lottie left through the back of the school. Luckily for her, the back way was closer to her house, so it was quicker for her to go that way anyway.

As soon as she left the school ground, Lottie's pace began to slow down. Every part of her hurt. Her face, her heart, and now because of that idiot her head. At a time like this, the last place she wanted to go back to was her home, but she knew she had to. Grudgingly, she walked that familiar path back to her home, or as she knew it better, her second hell...


	2. Chapter 2

For Xerxes Break, the first day of school was incredibly boring. The teachers just spat out the same garbage over and over, and they all did the same exact thing. Luckily for him, he had Gilbert and Reim to keep him entertained. Bothering them and watching them yell back at him for being annoying were some of the things that made school even some what tolerable for him. He couldn't be happier that it was finally his last year in this place.

After school, Reim and him decided to meet up so that they could go back to Reim's house to hang out for the afternoon. When Break got out of his last class, he walked Sharon to her car, and then went back in to find Reim. Moving quickly, Break made his way to the library where Reim was after school. He was a library aid during 7th period and usually stayed a little while after school to finish some things up. The library wasn't that far from the front of the school, so it wasn't long before he neared it. Just one more turn, and-

_**BANG** _

The force from running into someone who was moving as quickly as he was caused Break to fall back onto the ground. He groaned from the pain, and rubbed his now aching head. His head had smacked right into the other person's head, and now he was suffering from a serious headache.

"Hey watch where you're going!" yelled the one he had run into. Break pouted at the notion that it was completely his fault, and looked at the angry girl sitting in front of him. Though when he saw the girl, his pout fell, and his eye widened just a bit. The girl was no doubt pretty and very unique. Her light pink hair that fell down to her shoulders match her bright pink eyes nearly perfectly. But it wasn't those features about her that had caught Break's eye. No, it was the fact that her eyes had an unnatural red tint to them, which made it obvious that she was crying recently. The girl also had a bright red cut down the side of her face, and it looked like it was very fresh.

Break was about to ask the girl if she was alright, but before he could say a thing she stood to her feet and stomped off, mumbling under her breath. Break turned around to watch her go, noticing that instead of heading to the back of the school instead of the front. While he was thinking about why she was doing that, he didn't hear the steps as Reim, who had witnessed the whole thing, walked up to him.

"Next time don't turn a corner without looking where you're going," said Reim as he stood over Break.

Beak frowned at his friend and said, "Well it isn't all my fault Reim. She wasn't looking either."

"I never said it was just your fault you idiot," Reim clarified. "I'm just saying that if you had been paying attention you could have avoided the whole situation."

"Oh well, whats done is done," replied Break as he pushed himself up to his feet. "By the way Reim, do you know who that girl is?

"Yeah she's in two of my classes this year," answered Reim. "She's Miss Lottie Valon."

"Really now?" Break mumbled. He would be lying if he hadn't heard that name, many many times over the past few years, and none of them were for good reason. He had heard the rumors, heard them more then he would have liked to. Yet something just didn't add up. The girl didn't seem anything like what others words have made her out to be. For one, she didn't even dress that provocatively. She wore jeans that went down to her ankles, and her shirt revealed very little. Also, the girl didn't seem flirtatious at all, nor did she even look like a person who would do such things. To Break, this was quite the mystery indeed...

"Xerxes, are you coming or not?" asked Reim, pulling Break from his thoughts.

Break gave him one of his goofy smiles, and replied, "Why of course Reim, I wouldn't miss going to your place for anything."

Reim rolled his eyes, and said, "Don't be stupid." He turned away from Break, and started walking towards the nearest exit. Break chuckled and quickly caught up to Reim. Even though he was keeping a steady conversation with Reim, Break couldn't help but think back to the girl. His own curiosity was eating him alive, and there were just some questions that he wanted to get answered. He knew he wasn't going to get them easily, so he would just have to get them his own way...

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The sound of heels clicked through the stale air as Lottie walked down an abandoned path on the poorer side of town. Ramshackle houses were everywhere, and grime and trash littered the streets. The homeless could be found down every alley way, and very few cars traveled the thin streets. The smell of oil and garbage was always in the air no matter what the weather was. It was disgusting, and Lottie hated every bit of it.

Ignoring the looks of helplessness from the homeless, Lottie quickly made her way towards a small light blue house at the farther edge of town. A shiver went down her spine as her broken down house came into view. She sighed heavily as she looked at the many holes that were scattered across the roof, and the cracked windows.

Lottie cringed as the door squeaked loudly when she opened it. She tried not to cough as the smell of alcohol washed over her face. Covering up her nose, she quietly and slowly inched her way into the house. Her face was wrinkled in disgust from all the trash and empty glass bottles that littered the floor. Stepping light over them, Lottie tried her hardest to make it to the stairs that led up to the attic where her room was located. She was almost there, when a shout from the living room stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Is that you Girl?" bellowed the deep voice of her father. Lottie clenched her hands tightly into a fist and answered through her teeth.

"Yes," was all she said in response. She could hear the loud squeak of a chair, and then heavy footsteps on the wooden floor. As the sound came closer, Lottie's heart began to beat faster. She stopped breathing when a large man came around the corner. His hair was completely disheveled, and his face had a short scraggly beard. He muscles weren't huge, but you could tell that they were there. His eyes were bloodshot red, and dark black bags could be seen under them.

Lottie's entire body froze as the man lumbered clumsily towards her. She wanted so badly to run away from him, but she just couldn't. As his hand wrapped tightly around her already bruised arm, she wished that she had just had the courage to run away from him before he got to her. Pushing her roughly against the closest wall, her father put his face right in front of hers and stared her in the eyes. Lottie could barely breathe as his breath reeked heavily of alcohol.

"D'ya think you could get away from this by being quiet," slurred the man. "I told ya this mornin that I would a finish what I started when you got back. You don't just go 'round disrepectin me and get away with it."

Lottie braced herself for what was coming next. The grip on her arm grew tighter as her father raised his other hand. With one swift motion, he slapped her across the face. The force was so great that it knocked her down to the ground. Her father just stood over her and said, "Take that as a lesson." Lottie held her stinging cheek, and watched as her father stumbled back into the living room. She could barely control her anger and rage, but she pushed herself to keep quiet.

Getting back up to her feet, Lottie quickly rushed up the stairs and into her room. Locking the door behind her, Lottie threw her backpack onto the floor and fell onto her small bed. She felt her chest tighten, and a lump grew in her throat. Her face grew warm, and she couldn't stop the fountain of tears that started to fall from her eyes. Rolling over on her side, Lottie pulled her legs up to her chest and pushed her face into her pillows so her sobs couldn't be heard through the thin walls.

In complete despair, Lottie though back to the events of the morning. She was stupid and she paid dearly for it. Lottie was anything but happy. She hated school, and she was always extra cranky on the first day back. Summer was her time to be away from the people that thought they knew something about her. It was her time to be with Lily and Fang, and not feel guilty about them getting a bad image from being around her all the time. On top of that, her father liked to go off and do things and stay out of the house for days on end. It was an all around better time for her.

Yet this morning ended it all. It ended her happiness, and brought back a time of hatred and sadness. It ended her days of being free from the things that brought her down, and crushed her hopes of being happy once again.

Being as unhappy as she was, Lottie wasn't very careful about what she was saying. She had gotten up later then she should have, and her father wasn't too happy about that. He had gotten on her case about it, and she had told him to just shut up and leave her alone. This obviously wasn't the right thing to say, as her father had practically busted a blood vessel and got extremely angry. He proceeded to bruise her arms and would have done worse if she hadn't of begged him to stop so she could get to school on time. It was a miracle that he listened to her, but she wasn't surprised when he said that he would finish when she got home.

Now her face stung even more then it did before, and Lottie's spirit was just as bruised as her arms. She wanted nothing more then to just run away, but she knew there was nowhere for her to go. She knew that Lily and Fang's adoptive parents would gladly take her in. Lacie and Levi were very kind to her and treated her like real parents should treat their children. They didn't know a thing about her situation, but they still spoiled her to no end. Many of the nice things that Lottie had were because of them. Her phone, a lot of her nicer clothes, and her books that she liked to read were given to her by the Baskervilles. They were like her second, real, family. Lottie would go their in a heart beat, but she feared that she would burden them with her presences and after all the kind things they've done to her she wouldn't dare do something like that.

So instead, Lottie just sat there wallowing in her own misery. That's all that she really knew how to do in situations like this. Time seemed to slow down in times like these, almost as if someone was punishing Lottie for existing by making her misery last even longer. She saw it as someone trying to send a message to her, "Just end it all already, it's for the best." If Lottie wasn't so stubborn, she would have listened already.

After sitting there what seemed like hours, Lottie decided that it was time to do something that was actually productive. She forcefully pulled her mind out of the gutter and got up to do the homework that she was assigned. Even though it was the first day, her teachers still gave her some form of homework. None of it was very difficult, but it was still annoying work.

When she had finished with all that she needed to do, she looked at the clock. It only read 9:35, but Lottie was very tired. On a normal night she would stay up as late as 12 talking to Lily and/or Fang, but today she just didn't have enough energy to do much. Lottie yawned tiredly, and she knew she needed to get some sleep. Tomorrow wasn't going to be any better then today, so she figured she might as well get enough sleep to be able to cope.

As she changed into her night clothes, Lottie heard a loud crash come from downstairs. She heard her father curse, but didn't think anything about it. She didn't care if that bastard got hurt by something that he probably caused himself. She knew that he wouldn't come upstairs to come and take it out on her because the last time he tried to do that he fell back down the stairs and hurt himself even more. Her room was the only safe place in the house where he would never go, and Lottie was more then glad for that.

Sliding her way under the covers, Lottie rolled on her side and sighed. When she woke up the next morning, nothing would be better, nothing would change. Everything will still be as bad as it was today, and there was nothing she could do to change that. With those hopeless thoughts in her head, Lottie felt her eyes become heavy with sleep. She twisted and turned in her bed until she found the most comfortable spot. Shutting her eyes for the night, Lottie simply waited until her mind finally faded into the peaceful state that sleep brought upon her each night.

 


	3. Chapter 3

The piercing sound of the alarm clock rang through Lottie's ear, waking her from her peaceful sleep. She groaned and moved her hand over to the alarm to shut it off. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Lottie stretched her limbs out and yawned loudly. She sat up and sung her her legs off the bed. Pushing herself off the bed , Lottie proceeded to get ready for the day. After taking a quick shower, and doing what needed to be done, she picked up her backpack and headed down the stairs.

Moving as quietly as she could, Lottie tried to sneak her way through the house. She could hear her father's loud snoring coming from the living room. The last thing she wanted was to wake him up, so she had to be extra careful about making any sort of noise. She made a quick stop at the kitchen to make a small lunch and pick up an apple to eat on the way before heading out the front door.

The sun was sitting above the horizon as Lottie left the house. The streets where busy this time in the morning, and people were scrambling around to get to their destinations. Keeping her eyes to the ground to avoid unneeded eye contact, Lottie pushed past them and continued on her way.

When she finally arrived at the school grounds there was still about half an hour until classes started. Since fewer people got to school early, Lottie was able to move freely with feeling millions of eyes on her from every direction. Most of the people that were there already were the type who didn't get involved in gossip and things like that, so they didn't mess with her and she didn't mess with them.

Lottie found her way to her first period class, and went inside. The lights were already on, but the teacher wasn't anywhere to be seen. The two people that were in the room both stopped what they were doing and smiled when they saw Lottie.

"Well look who isn't late today, Fang," teased Lily as she jumped up from her seat and ran up to Lottie, giving her a hug. "Looks like she listened to us after all!:

"No I just didn't get up late today," Lottie retorted with a pout. "Plus this gives me more time to talk with you guys before the day starts."

"Well I'm glad you could make it," Fang said with a smile.

"Why can't you be as polite as Fang, Lily," teased Lottie. She ignored Lily's sour look, and went to sit in her desk. For the rest of the time they had alone in the room, they just talked about all their classes, and things like that. After about 15 minutes, the other students began to file into the room. As the time for class drew closer, the rest of the students rushed into the room, and the teacher entered the room.

Silence fell over the class as Mr. Vessalius started the lesson of the day. History was an interesting topic for Lottie, so it was easy for her to stay awake an pay attention to what he was saying. She would sometimes make faces with Lily and Fang, but otherwise she was giving her attention to the lecture.

It seemed like only a few minutes passed before the bell signaling the end of class rang. Mr. Vessalius passed out a homework assignment and released the class for the day. Like the day before, Lottie, Fang, and Lily waited until all the other students had left before they left themselves. Before they could exit the room, Mr. Vessalius called out to them.

"Excuse me Miss Valon, if it isn't any trouble, could I speak with you for a second?"

"Uhmm... alright," Lottie replied. She turned to Fang and Lily and said, "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up with you."

"Alright see you then," answered Lily. In a hushed voice she said, "And you better tell us what this is all about when you get to class."

Lottie nodded and watched them leave before walking up to Mr. Vessalius. He smiled and motioned for her to sit in an extra chair next to his desk.

"I don't want to make you late for your next class, so I'll make this quick," he said. "I've heard what other students have been saying about you, but don't worry I don't believe a word of it. I've also heard what other teachers like myself have said about you. They've called you an exemplary student when it comes to history and subjects like it. I just wanted to tell you that if you are ever having any problems with other students that you can come to me. I can see a great potential in you, and if given the chance you can become someone great. I don't want to see such potential destroyed because of the horrible attitudes of others. Do you understand"

Lottie was in too much shock to say anything back. A teacher had never cared about her like this before, nor had they said such things about her. She never really thought of herself as smart in anyway. She was unable to speak, so she just nodded and Mr. Vessalius smiled again.

"Good. Now you should get going to your next class. I'll write you a pass so your teacher won't count you tardy." He pulled out a green slip from his desk, and wrote a few things on it before handing it to Lottie. "And remember, if you ever need to talk about something, my ears are always open."

Lottie nodded in understanding, and left the room. The tardy bell hadn't rung yet, so she had a few minutes to get to class. She walked quickly and was able to get inside the classroom right before the bell rang. She made her way to her seat between her friends and sat down. They both gave her questioning looks, so she whispered quietly, "I'll tell you at lunch." They understood and looked back at the front of the room.

The teacher began to spout things about English, but Lottie's mind was to far gone to listen to what she had to say. All she could think about was what Mr. Vessalius had said to her. She never thought that any of her teachers had noticed what was happening to her. Nobody has every tried to help her, and she never thought that anybody would. It was only the second day as well! He was acting as if he'd known her for quite sometime and was her friend. She just couldn't understand it.

The ring of the bell pulled Lottie from her thoughts. She hadn't realized that so much time had already passed. The teacher said a few more words to wrap the class up, passed out the homework, and then released the class. Shaking her head slightly, Lottie gathered up her things and followed Fang and Lily out of the room. They said their good byes and then went their separate ways.

For the rest of the time until lunch, Lottie was consumed with thoughts around what Mr. Vessalius said. She couldn't focus in any of her classes, and she was always out of it. Luckily, none of her teachers noticed or cared so she didn't get called out for not paying attention.

When fourth period finally came to an end, Lottie hastily made her way the cafeteria to meet up with her friends. She made her way across the room to the back where she found Lily and Fang. They were at the table that they had sat at since freshman year. It was theirs, and nobody every really cared to try and take it from them.

"There you are Lottie," chimed Lily. "We've been waiting for you!"

"Yeah sorry to keep you waiting," Lottie replied as she took a seat next to Fang and across from Lily. She dug in her backpack until she found the small sack lunch that she had put together earlier. All she had was a thin peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a bag of grapes, but that was all that she needed for the day.

"Soooo..." started Lily. Lottie looked up and saw her fidgeting in her seat.

"Oh yeah, right," started Lottie, "Long story short, he just told me that he had high expectations for me because of my history grades from previous years." She scratch her face and said, "That was pretty much it." Her heart hurt from lying to them, but she didn't really want to tell them the truth either. She didn't feel like it was really necessary for them to know, and just wanted to keep it to herself.

"That's it? Well that's not interesting at all," Lily complained. "I thought he was going to congratulate you for being on time today." She snickered as Lottie tried to kick her from under the table.

"Will you just let that go already," Lottie replied.

"Alright alright, I got it," said Lily who was still giggling under her breath. "It's not that fun anymore anyway."

"Lily, didn't you want to tell Lottie something?" asked Fang.

"Oh yeah that's right I completely forgot," Lily exclaimed. "Lottie, yesterday Fang and me found a stray puppy on the street. We brought it home and Ma and Pa told us we could keep him! Do you want to come over and meet him. He's so adorable and he's really playful too."

"Oh really, that sounds really nice," answered Lottie. "What's his name?"

"We decided to call him Bandersnatch!" replied Lily excitedly. "He's a little German Shepard! So do you want to come and meet him today."

Lottie had to think about it for a second. In all honesty, her father didn't care what time she came home. He never really knew what time it was anyway since he was always drunk. At the same time, she didn't know if she wanted to risk making him angry somehow but getting home late. Still, she would much rather be with her friends then go back to that hell.

"Sure I would love to," she replied with a smile. "But how am I going to get there with you guys? I don't rid the bus remember."

"Don't worry about it," Lily said. "Pa let Fang drive the car today. He didn't want Fang to drive yesterday because he wasn't really sure about it, but Fang convinced him it would be alright."

"I forgot that you got your license Fang," laughed Lottie. "Well if that's the case, then I'm in."

"That's great!" rejoiced Lily. Her bubbly nature rose to the surface, and she could barely keep her excitement contained. "You are going to love him!"

For the remainder of the lunch period, Lily went on and on about her new puppy. She talked about how he was still getting used to the house and would occasionally get lost. She told Lottie about his ravenous eating habits and his little quirks. Lottie couldn't help but smile at the other girls happiness. It's wasn't unusual for Lily to get excited about things, but this was one of the rare occasions that she was really truly happy about something.

When lunch finished, they once again had to separate for the day. They decided to meet up in the front after school so that could head to the Baskerville house right away. Lottie waved goodbye for her friends, and then went to her next class.

Fifth period, and then sixth period. Each passed by like nothing. Neither were classes that Lottie cared for, so she found little purpose in paying a lot of attention. She was half asleep most of the time, and she was too busy thinking about more important things to listen.

Unlike all her other periods, her seventh was actually tolerable. It wasn't actually a class at all, but more like a study hour. It was in the library, and nobody was there to lecture her or tell her what to do. As long as she stayed quiet and was in the place she was supposed to be. All she had to do was check in with the librarians and then stay until the final bell rang. There were other people in her "class", but they were spread out and none of them cared to bother her.

Instead of studying or doing homework like the other kids, Lottie spent this time reading books that she found. She liked to sit in the area with the history books, so most of the things that she read were books related to history. She would get lost in these types of books, and found them an escape from her own reality. Reading about how things were in the past and how people thought back then fascinated her to no end.

Sitting down in a chair close to the isle, Lottie pulled out a random book. Flipping it open, she found that it was a book about Ancient Egyptian culture. She immediately because entranced by the book, and lost all sense of what was happening around her. Things would have stayed that way, if not for the loud thunk of a book hitting the floor behind her. The distraction pulled her attention away from the book and made her look in annoyance.

When she turned around she saw a boy around her age crouch on the ground picking up the source of the noise. He ran a hand through his short brown hair, and his thin amber eyes showed his own annoyance at the situation. He took off his glasses and quickly cleaned them before putting them back on and picking the book up from off the ground. He dusted off the book before setting it on top of a large stack next to him. He stood up, straight and tall, and dusted himself off. It was then that he noticed he was being watched by Lottie. He blinked in embarrassment, his face turning light pink.

"I apologize for the disturbance," he whispered. He bowed his head slightly and then quickly picked up the stack and left, leaving Lottie confused.

" _That was odd,"_  She thought.  _"With all those books he's either really likes to read or he's a library aid."_  Lottie shrugged off the thought, and went back to her book. Unfortunately for her, the bell rang signaling the end of the day. She sighed and shut the book before putting it back where she found it. She made sure to remember the name of the book so that she could read it again tomorrow.

Lottie made sure that she had everything before got up to leave. Everyone had left the library except for the librarians and the brown haired boy, so it was unnervingly empty. She wanted to wait until the halls were a little less empty, so she took her time getting to the door. She picked up a stray book and put it on the table, and took a quick look at a book that was being displayed on one of the shelves. When she felt like it was "safe" to leave the library, she set the book back down and left through the main doors.

When she stepped out into the hallway, her eyes met with one that she never thought she would have the displeasure of seeing again. There leaning against the wall opposite the library was Xerxes Break. He was just standing there as if he were waiting for someone. When he made eye contact with her, his single showing eye lit up, and he smirked. Lottie didn't really know what was going on, so she just stood there as he walked up to her with a sneaky look in his eye.

"I knew if I waited here I would see you again," he said as he stopped in front of her and pushed his face close to hers.

"What do you want?" asked Lottie angrily. "And get out of my face, don't you know anything about personal space." She pushed him away from her and crossed her arms in front of her.

"How rude," he replied, a pout on his face. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for running into you yesterday, and this is how you treat me."

"You don't have to get all up in my face to say sorry you idiot," snapped Lottie. In her head, all she could think about was how annoyed she was already, and how thankful she was that nobody was around to see this. Rumors would have spread instantly, and school would become an even worse hell then before.

"But it's so much easier to see your reactions from up close," he teased, his single red eye staring into her pink ones.

The situation was started to extremely awkward for Lottie. Not only was he a complete stranger, he was apologizing for something as simple as running into her. Nobody normal would have done that. They would have just forgotten about it and went about their lives, like Lottie did. But this boy. He went out of his way to say sorry to her. It was a nice gesture, but Lottie was highly suspicious of it.

"Is that all you have to say," Lottie replied, her voice showing her aggravation. "I have somewhere to be."

"What a shame," he answered with a disappointed frown. "And here I was about to ask you if I could take you somewhere to show how much I'm sorry."

"I would have said no even if I wasn't busy," said Lottie. She was starting to get impatient with him.

"That's too bad," answered Xerxes, shrugging. "Well I guess I should stop bothering you... for now." He smirked and started to walk away. He turned back around and added, "Have a nice day, Miss Lottie." With that, he left leaving Lottie confused.

" _What is with him?"_ Lottie thought. " _He's even stranger then I've heard..."_ She shock her head to get him out of her head, and then went on her way to find Lily and Fang.


	4. Chapter 4

After her unexpected, and unwanted, run in with Xerxes Break again, Lottie quickly made her way out of the school, and to the parking lot. Because of Fang's height, it wasn't hard to find him in the crowded area. He was leaning against a small red four seated car. He saw her coming and waved to her. Lottie smiled and waved back at him. When she approached the car, she saw Lily sitting in the passenger seat with the window down.

"You made it, now we can get going!" cheered Lily. "Come on get in Lottie. You too Fang."

Lottie chuckled and replied, "Alright you impatient shrimp, I'm getting in." Opening the door to the back seat, Lottie tossed her backpack in and slid into the seat. Fang got into the drivers seat and started the car. Because of the rush to get off the school grounds, it took sometime for them to actually get out of the parking lot. While they waited their turn to leave, Lottie leaned up between the two front seats and talked with them. Everything was smooth sailing when they were finally able to leave the school. There wasn't that much traffic in the direction they were going, and they never got caught at any lights.

About 15 minutes later, they approached the Baskerville mansion. Lottie had seen it many times, but no matter how many time she did it always took her breath away. The sheer size of it was incredibly overwhelming for someone like her who had lived her whole life in a tiny house. The large gates that surrounded the property looked unwelcoming, but the gardens that were inside were so beautiful that anybody who walked by had to stop and take in their beauty. If the gardens didn't catch your eyes, then the building itself will. The large pristine white walls shined brightly in the fall sun, and windows seemed like they were crafted by masters of architecture.

Driving up to the main gates, Fang stopped and rolled down the window. There was a small key pad in which he entered a code in order to open the gates. When he finished and pressed enter, the gate shook to life, and moved back to let them in. Instead of driving up the way to the front door, Fang took a detour to the side of the house where the garage was located. Fang clicked a button on a clicker that was attached to the sun visor, and the garage doors opened up. He quickly pulled into it and closed the door before turning off the car and getting out.

The inside of the house was just as beautiful as the outside. The marble halls were covered in works of art, and flowers decorated the furniture that was scattered around. The light that shone in lit up the halls and made the light red carpet even more pleasing to they eyes. Lottie wanted to challenge herself to count every room in the mansion, but there were just too many and she knows she would just get lost if she tried.

"Come on you guys, let's go see him!" shouted Lily, who was miles ahead of both Lottie and Fang. She was jumping out of excitement. Lottie had to hold back her laughter at the girl. She and Lily were about the same age, but Lily always acted like she was a little girl when she got excited about something.

"Were coming as quickly as we can," Lottie replied. "Some of us don't have as much energy as you do."

Lily pouted and was about to say something in return, but she got distracted by a small high pitched bark resonated through the hall. She perked up and turned around to see a ball of fur running down the hall toward her. Lily giggled and got down onto her knee's to let the small puppy jump into her lap and lick her face. Lottie smiled at the sight, and along with Fang walked up to where Lily was sitting.

Bandersnatch himself was about a quarter the size that Lily was. If Lottie had to guess, the puppy was only a few months old. He was almost completely black except for the small patches of brown around his face and paws. Lottie had to admit that he was incredibly cute, and his energy was a perfect match for Lily's.

"Bandersnatch! Where did you get off to Bandersnatch?" A male voice rang through the halls. Lottie looked towards where it came from, and saw an older man come around the corner. His long white hair was tied up with a portion of his bangs hanging over his face. His bright purple eyes were searching the halls until they landed on Lottie. He smiled and waved at her, which she returned. He walked over to the group and leaned over Lily, who didn't notice him until he was standing over her.

"Pa!" exclaimed Lily. She got up to her feet and hugged her adoptive father, which he returned.

"I see, so this is why he ran off so quickly," he mused. "He must have heard you and came running. My, how loyal this one is already."

"Good evening Mr. Levi," said Lottie, bowing her head slightly in respect. "Its' good to see you again."

"Now now Lottie what have I told you about calling me Mr.?" asked Levi in an amused tone. He patted Lottie on the head affectionately and said, "Calling me Mr. just makes me feel so old."

Lottie smirked and swatted his hand away. "Well that might be because you are old."

"You are such a teaser Lottie," replied Levi, rubbing her head and messing up her hair.

"I could say the same about you Levi," Lottie answered, swatting his hand away from her head before he could mess up her hair even more. "So where is Lacie?"

"Hm? Oh she was right behind me," Levi replied, looking back towards where he came. "But it seems she's gone off somewhere. I don't have where she could have gone."

"Hey Pa, why is Bandersnatch in here?" asked Lily. "I thought I left him outside in his kennel?"

"You did," answered Levi. "But you see, your mother and I decided to let him out for a bit while we sat outside. He was doing just fine outside, but he must have heard you returning, so he pushed the door open with his nose and ran inside. For such a young one, he's pretty smart."

"Really you did all that Bandersnatch?" Lily asked the puppy. He probably didn't know what she was saying to him, but Bandersnatch barked and wagged his tail furiously in response. Lily giggled and rubbed her face against his. "You're my smart little boy aren't you!"

Levi chuckled, and said, "Well I should probably go find Lacie. There's no telling what trouble she's getting herself into." He looked at Lottie once again. "Oh and I almost forgot. Lacie left something for you in the kitchen. Do go and pick it up before you leave today." With those last words, Levi excused himself and went off to try and find his wife.

"Hey Lottie, why don't you go and pick up what mother left for you right now," suggested Fang. "We have to take Bandersnatch back outside before he breaks something, so you can come and meet us when you are done."

"That sounds like a plan," replied Lottie. Before either of them could say anything about it she added, "And don't worry I won't get lost. I know how to get to the kitchen from here.

"Good cause I don't want to have to search the whole house for you again," laughed Lily who had pick Bandersnatch up and was now holding him in her arms.

"That was only one time," Lottie fumed, her face red. "And that was because I had only been here a few times and you guys left me all alone. I know the house better now."

"Ah I'm just teasing you Lottie," joked Lily. "Well we'll meet you outside, see you then." She turned away from Lottie and ran in the direction of the backyard door. She was out of sight before Fang even started moving. Fang nodded to Lottie and then followed Lily's footsteps.

Lottie took in the scenery around her so that she could find out where she was exactly. When she figured it out, Lottie quickly made her way towards the kitchen. She passed through twisting hallways and many doors, but she had gone down this road before and was able to find the kitchen easily. Lottie was happy to find the kitchen empty, because she didn't really want to deal with any of the servants of the house, or any of the other family members for that matter. It wasn't that she didn't like them, it was just really awkward for her to talk with them.

The kitchen itself was extremely large. It was bigger then her living room and kitchen put together! Beautifully crafted counters lined the walls and ran through the middle of the room. Cooking utensils hung from hooks above the counters and covered some of the walls. The enormous refrigerator towered above her, and it was nearly impossible for someone her height, let alone Lily's, to reach anything at the top without having a chair to help them.

Sitting on top of one of the counters was a small neatly wrapped package with a note on it. Lottie examined the package before picking up the note and reading it.

" _I was making some oatmeal raisin cookies last night and I remember that they were your favorites. I made a few extra to give to you. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did." - Lacie_

Lottie felt some tears welling up in her eyes. This kindness, no matter how much of it she gets, she would never get used to it. They were always doing this kinds of things for her, and there was nothing she could do in return. She felt so guilty.

Suddenly, voices sounded from outside the door, making Lottie jump in surprise. She didn't recognize any of them, but they were getting closer. Lottie's first instinct was to leave, but she didn't have enough time. The door slid wide open and showed a young girl around Lottie's age. Her long brown hair had two small braids that outlined her face, and kept it out of her purple eyes. Lottie had never really seen her in the house before since she always stayed with her friend's, but she knew without a doubt that the girl was Alice Baskerville. She was looked around for something, but her face lit up in confusion when her eyes landed on Lottie.

"Hey aren't you Lily, Fang and Doug's friend," asked Alice, her head cocked to the side. "What are you doing in here all alone?"

"I was asked to pick something up in here," Lottie replied. "I was just about to met up with them right now."

Alice didn't say anything in response, she only pushed passed Lottie and dug into the fridge. She was obviously looking for something, but Lottie didn't care to find out what. Quietly, she made her way out of the kitchen and back into the winding halls. She let out the heavy breath that she had been holding the whole time of the encounter. She breathed in and quickly composed herself before heading to where Lily and Fang were.

Passing through more and more halls, Lottie knew that she was drawing closer to her destination. She only had a few more corners to turn and then-

**SMACK**

The force of running this other person wasn't hard enough to make her fall back, but she still got a terrible head ache from hitting their head. It was in about the same spot where she had hit into Xerxes Break the day before, so the pain was worse.

"It seems that we just can't stop running into each other," said the other victim of the incident. Immediately, Lottie's headache grew worse as she recognized that annoyingly grating voice. She looked up and met that one red eye that was filled with amusement, and inwardly groaned.

"What are you doing here Xerxes Break," she grumbled as she rubbed her head and glared at the man.

"Well I could ask you the same exact thing Miss Lottie," Xerxes replied. "If really want to know, Oz and Gilbert were invited over by Miss Alice, so I decided that I would tag along. As for why I'm walking around, Oz and Gilbert forced me to go and find Miss Alice who has disappeared. Would you happen to know where she is?

" _So you weren't really invited..."_ "Yeah I saw her," Lottie answered. "But why should I tell you?"

"Because I'm getting tired," he whined, grabbing onto Lottie's sleeves and tugging on them lightly. "Plus I'm going to get lost if I don' t find her soon."

Lottie frowned and brushed his hands off her and said, "You are so annoying. Fine, she's in the kitchen, but I'm not showing you where that is."

Xerxes grinned and said, "Why thank you Miss Lottie." He then did something that Lottie wasn't prepared for. He got close to her and pulled her into a hug. Lottie's body tightened and reacted on it's own, pushing Xerxes away from her.

"D-don't touch me Xerxes Break you pervert," Lottie stuttered in embarrassment. She glared at him, her face slightly red.

He pouted and said, "Calling me a pervert, now that's hurting my feelings." He shrugged and shook his head. "Oh well it can't be helped."

"Just get out of my way already and let me go," grumbled Lottie, her arms crossed over the box of cookies, which was luckily unharmed when she ran into Xerxes.

"Well I have to go find Miss Alice before she moves again, so I guess I can let you off the hook this one time," Xerxes replied, a mysterious air about him. He walked past her, but before he got far he turned around and said, "And you can just call me Xerxes. I'll see you later Miss Lottie, and next time you won't be getting away from me so easily." Before Lottie could ask him what he meant with that, he turned and left her behind.

 


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey Lottie, do you want to come over again today" asked Lily.

It was the afternoon after the events at the Baskerville mansion and Lottie was thoroughly exhausted from it. After seeing Xerxes Break again, Lottie went out in the backyard to find Lily and Fang playing with Bandersnatch while their brother Doug watched. Doug was another of Lottie's best friends, but he didn't go to school with them. He was their age, but because of his anxieties he wasn't able to attend public school, and had to be home schooled.. He was so nervous around other people that he covered his face when ever he was around anybody else, even his family. They spent the rest of the evening talking outside and playing with the puppy.

When it was time for Lottie get home, Fang offered to drive her home, but she refused him. She didn't want him, or anybody else for that matter going anywhere near her house. He didn't want her to have to walk all the way back home, so he drove her to the train station and paid for her ticket, which Lottie reluctantly let him do. When she got home, her father was already passed out, so she didn't get any trouble from him. She went up to her room, did her homework, and then went to bed. In the morning, she had overslept and barely got to school on time, which left little time for her to talk with her friends at all during the day. It wasn't until lunch that she was really able to have a full conversation with them.

"I don't think I can today Lily," Lottie replied. "I have a lot of homework today, and I don't want to fall behind so early on the year."

"It's ok, I completely understand," Lily answered with a smile. "So how have your classes been going so far?"

"There alright I guess," Lottie said, shrugging her shoulders. "They aren't hard, but it's hard to stay awake in some of them sometimes. What about you Fang?"

"About the same as you," Fang replied. "I only like about 2 of my classes, and those are the ones with you in it. The others are quite dull since I don't really have anyone to talk to in them."

"Yeah me too," chimed Lily. "You guys make sitting in class ten times better. I wish we had more classes together then just two..."

It was then, in the middle of their conversation, that the bell ending lunch decided to ring. The look of disappointment was apparent on each of their faces, but they couldn't do anything about it. Saying a goodbye to one another, the trio split up and went to their classes.

Lottie was barely able to stay awake during fifth period, but somehow she made it through to the bell. Gathering up her things into her bag, she left the room and made her way to her sixth period. She expected to be left alone in the halls like she normally was, but today was different. Nearly as soon as she left the classroom, another body appeared beside her.

"Hello Miss Lottie how are you today?" She didn't even have to look to know that it was Xerxes Break again.

"Why do you insist on bothering me so much?" asked Lottie, her voice tinged with aggravation. Not only was he a bother to her, he was also drawing a lot of attention. All around her she could feel the stares of everyone in the halls. They were watching them, and judging her. She couldn't stand it.

"I thought it was so obvious," Xerxes replied matter-of-factually. "Are you really that dense?"

"I'm not dense," Lottie hissed through her teeth.

Xerxes held his hands up and said, "Ok ok, I get it. Dense is not a good word to say around you." Even though he was trying to act seriously, Lottie could see how much he wanted to laugh from his eye. He looked at one of the many open doors in the hallway and said, "Well it looks like this is my stop, we'll have to continue this next time." Without waving or saying good bye, he left a fuming Lottie and went into his class room.

Wanting to get out of the heat from so many malicious gazes, Lottie quickly made her way to her own class and sat down in her seat. She was still being glanced at by some of the other students, but it wasn't as bad as it was in the halls.

" _Damn him, that idiot,"_ Lottie thought, her fists balling up in anger.  _"Why can't he get it into his head that I don't want him around, he's just making things worse for me. And he's being such a creep! Is he stalking me now? Just what does he want with me?"_ Curse filled thoughts continued to run through her mind for the rest of the period until the bell rang.

" _I just need to make it to the library as quickly as possible,"_ Lottie thought.  _"That way I can get away from everyone. Plus, if that stalker could show up again and make things even worse."_ Avoid as much contact as possible from other people, Lottie eventually made it to where she needed to go without any problems. No Xerxes Break, and no issues from others.

Lottie checked in with the front desk, and then made her way towards the history section. She picked out the book that she was reading before, but moved to the other side of the aisle. It was where the aisle attached to the aisle that ran against the wall, so no one could see her easily from anywhere in the library. She was completely out of view, and for once she was comfortable.

Or so she thought. When she had opened the book and gotten into it, quiet footsteps made their way towards her. Luckily, Lottie wasn't so into the book that she didn't notice them. She looked up and saw a girl that she didn't recognized coming towards her. Her breathe got caught in her throat, because she knew very well what was coming next. The look in the girls eyes was a dead give away.

The girl smiled devilishly and stood over Lottie menacingly. "So I saw you walking around with Xerxes Break," she whispered. "So what did you have to go through to sleep with him huh? Must have been a lot since he's waaay out of your league. Just thinking about him falling so low as to be with you, it's almost sickening."

The taunting wouldn't stop, and Lottie had to hold herself back from punching the girl in her face. This girl didn't even know her, and she went out of her way to tease her. Is this really what her life had come to...

Just when she was about to lose it, someone cleared their throat, catching the attention of both Lottie and the girl. It was the boy from yesterday. His eyes were filled with agitation, and he glared at the girl, who was just as surprised as Lottie was. "If you don't want to get in trouble, you'd best leave now," the boy ordered, his voice low and threatening. The girl glared at him and then Lottie before she finally left.

The boy shook his head sighed. He looked at Lottie and asked, "Are you alright, you aren't hurt are you?"

"I'm fine," Lottie replied curtly. She didn't need his concern, she didn't want it.

He smiled kindly and whispered, "That's good." He held out his hand. "By the way my name is Reim Lunettes, it's nice to meet you."

Lottie stared at his hand for a second before caving in and shaking it. "I'm Lottie." She recognized that name. She had never really paid attention to anybody in any of her later classes, so she never realized before that Reim was in some of her classes.

"Well, Lottie, it's a pleasure, but I must be going," Reim said guiltily, rubbing head with one hand. "I have work to do, and I'll get yelled at if I don't get it done."

"One question first," Lottie replied. She looked away from Reim, and looked at her hands. "Did you hear anything that she said."

"Yes I did," he answered. "But I don't believe a word of it." Lottie looked up at him, surprised. He had that kind smile on his face again. "Even if I don't know you that well, I know that Xerxes isn't that type of person." He waved farewell, and left before Lottie could ask him any questions.

" _He knows Xerxes Break?"_ thought Lottie.  _"They are probably friends, but I don't see how they could get along. Oh well, that doesn't matter right now. I really am glad that he got that girl away from me though, I'll have to repay him in some way."_ Lottie decided to forget about it until later, and opened her book to where she had left of the last time. She read in peace to her hearts content until the school ended. She grudgingly put her book back where she found it, and left the library after a slight delay.

She really wasn't all that surprised when she saw Xerxes Break leaning against the wall again, waiting for her. He was looking down at the floor, but his gaze shot up when he heard the door open. He smirked when he saw her.

"Hello again Miss Lottie, I told you we would continue our conversation," he chimed as he walked up to her.

"And I thought I told you to leave me alone you pervert," answered Lottie, glaring at Xerxes.

"There you go again calling me names," Xerxes replied, fake tears in his eyes.

"If you don't want me to be mean to you, tell me why you are interested in me so suddenly!"

"Do you want to know the truth?" asked Xerxes, a strange look in his eyes. "The truth is you cause my curiosity to run wild. I want to know things that only you know the answer to, but I know you won't say a word unless you trust me, and I know you won't trust me unless I find a way to be your friend. I didn't want to say it out right, but you've forced my hand."

"Well I'm not going to be friend, so stop trying," Lottie answered with hostility. "People like you irritate me beyond no end."

Xerxes shrugged and replied, "Don't think that I'm going to stop trying because you said that. I'm not the type of person to give up when I have a goal in my sight."

Lottie was about to say something in retort, but the library doors behind her squeaked open, and Reim walked out. He had a sour look on his face, and he was staring right at Xerxes.

Xerxes raised his arm and waved his hand in the air. "Ah there you are Reim, I was waiting for you. Sharon is waiting for us!"

"First, apologize to Lottie for all the trouble that you've cause her with your idiocy," commanded Reim.

Xerxes' arm fell and his smile turned into a frown. "You too Reim? Fine, fine..." He turned to Lottie and bowed his head. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you with my idiocy." He raised he head and pout at Reim. "There are you happy now?"

"It's the best I'll get from you, so I'll just have to take it," sighed Reim. To Lottie he said, "If this one causes you anymore problems, just tell me and I'll deal with him."

"Thanks," muttered Lottie. It wasn't like she wasn't grateful for his intervention, but that didn't make the situation any less awkward for her.

"Good," he answered with a smile. "We have to go now, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Lottie mumbled quietly. "See you tomorrow."

Reim waved his hand as one last goodbye, and proceeded to to drag an uncooperative Xerxes with him. Lottie watched them go, and wondered again how two people like them could possibly be friends.


	6. Chapter 6

Light fluttered into Lottie's room through her tattered curtain and onto her face. She groaned and wished for a snooze button for the Earth's natural alarm clock, but she knew she couldn't get rid of the light. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Lottie looked at the clock and say the numbers 10:26.

"It's the weekend, why did you have to wake me up sun," Lottie mumbled to herself.

The first week of school had finally ended, and Lottie was free for 2 whole days. The last days of the school week weren't really that bad. Xerxes had pretty much left her alone whenever they saw each other. The only time she would see him was after school while he was waiting for Reim, but he ignored her when she walked by. She had also gotten to know Reim a little bit more. He would talk to her while he wasn't doing anything. Lottie actually started to enjoy having him around, since he was a decent person. She also felt a little more comfortable in the classes she had with him, since she now had a friend in them.

Lottie stretched out her limbs and got out of bed. She had decided that today she would go out into the downtown and just walk around. She used to do this a lot during the summer when she need to spend some time alone. No body around town listened to high school rumors, so they all treated Lottie like a normal human being. Occasionally she would see someone from her school, but she would just change her route to avoid them entirely.

After she finished getting dressed and ready, Lottie grabbed her things and went down stairs. Another reason she loved the weekends was her father was almost always out of the house, and this was one of those weeks that he was gone. She was able to move freely without having to worry about getting beaten or yelled at. Lottie grabbed a quick bite to eat before she headed out the door and towards downtown Reveille.

The poor part of town was located fairly close to the center of the city, so Lottie didn't have to travel that far to get to where she was going. Even though they were so close together, they looked nothing alike. Downtown Reveille was a beautiful place that was always bustling with life. Small shops were scattered across the town, so there was never a scarcity of places to visit, and restaurants could be found around every corner. The brick roads and smooth sidewalks were always clean, and they were much wider then they were near Lottie's home.

Because of Lottie's lack of funds, she wouldn't be able to buy anything she saw, but that didn't matter to her. She just liked to look at all the things that people were selling, and walk around in the fresh air. It was extremely calming for her, and it got her mind off of things. Being able to walk without the worry of being judged and looked down on was something she looked forward to the most.

As Lottie walked down one of the main streets she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. A slim figure with a head of pure white was slouched over a small table outside a small restaurant. There was nothing on the table, he was just staring blankly at it. His arm was propped up against the table, and his head leaned lazily on it.

"Xerxes Break? What is he doing out here?" Lottie whispered under her breath. She was less then happy that out of all the people she could see today, it was him. If she had her choice, she would have gone anywhere near him. Yet, she remembered the promise that she made to Reim yesterday evening.

" _I still need to repay you for what you did for me that day."_

" _Oh no you don't have to. I did what I thought was right, and I didn't ask for payment."_

" _It's not about you, it's about me. I don't like feeling like I owe you something. It doesn't have to be anything big, anything would be just fine."_

" _Well if you really insist, then there is only one thing I can think of, but you might not like it."_

" _That's alright."_

" _Ok then. What I want you to do is to be Xerxes' friend."_

" _What? Why?"_

" _Haha... I knew you wouldn't like it. Well you see, Xerxes doesn't have that many friends whom he really trusts, and it's extremely odd for him to go and try to be friends with someone. He's also very bad at interacting with other people who don't know how to deal with him. He may be a nuisance, but under all that he really is a good person. There's a reason he started talking to you specifically. I know you want to find out why, and he won't say anything about it until he at least trusts you somewhat."_

" _Well I mean, I do... but he's just so difficult to be around."_

" _I understand. It's hard sometimes for me to deal with the things he does, but because I'm his friend you could say that I'm used to it all."_

" _If it's what you want me to do then I'll do it, but if he starts to become unbearable I can't promise that I'll stick around."_

" _And that's all that I can ask for... And don't worry, it won't be as bad as you think it will be."_

Lottie sighed, and prepared herself for the storm she was headed into. Walking slowly towards her target, she tried her hardest not to be seen just in case she wanted to rethink her decision. As she approached him though, she noticed that something was off. His skin was paler then it usually was, and there were light bags under his closed eye. Normally, from what Lottie had seen so far, he would wear a light white jacket with black jeans of some kind, but now he was wearing a large, loose fitting purple hoodie along with dark gray sweatpants.

Lottie walked up to him slowly, and tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jump in surprise. His eye flew open, and he jerked his head around to see what had woken him up. When his eyes landed on Lottie, he cocked his head to the side questioningly.

"Miss Lottie? What are you doing here?" asked Xerxes in a sleepy, half-awake voice as he rubbed his eye with his hand.

"I could ask you the same thing," Lottie retorted, her hands crossed over her chest.

"Well you see I was out walking to get some fresh air when I got hungry. This was the closest place I could find, so I decided come here. But I didn't get much sleep last night because I had so much homework to do, so when I sat down I must have fallen asleep. I must thank you for waking me. I am surprised though that one of the employees didn't come and wake me. Since your here, why don't you sit down and have lunch with me, I'll buy."

It would have brought Lottie great satisfaction to tell him no, but she was already this far, so she couldn't go back. She sighed, and sat down in the chair across from him. "Don't think that I'm doing this because I want to. I promised Reim that I would at least give you a chance."

Xerxes smirked and said, "I figured he would do something like that." His red eye started into hers and said, "I guess I can't waste the opportunity that he presented to me now can I."

"That's right," Lottie replied. "So don't ruin the only chance you've got. I have things that I want to learn from you too, so it would be a shame if you made me angry so early on in our "friendship"."

Suddenly, a young waitress walked up to the table and bowed her head. "I apologize for the long wait. We've been busy all afternoon."

"Don't worry," Xerxes replied, dismissing the girl's worries with a wave of his hand. "I was waiting for someone anyway, so you can at just the right time." He smiled and the girl sighed in relief. She then asked us what we wanted and left after getting our orders.

"So you were waiting for someone else?" Lottie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope that was a lie," he answered. "But I didn't want that girl to feel like she was inconveniencing me when she really wasn't."

"That was actually nice of you, how surprising," Lottie commented.

Xerxes pouted and replied, "You thought I was a mean person? How rude."

Lottie rolled her eyes, and was about to answer him when the waitress returned with their drinks. She set them gently in front of them and told them that their food would be ready shortly. Xerxes nodded in reply, and the girl left again.

"It would be boring if we just sat here doing nothing," Xerxes said out of no where. "Why don't we get to know each other a bit better?"

"Sure why not..." Lottie mumbled. "But you have to start."

"Alright then. I'll start by asking you questions," Xerxes replied with a cheeky grin.

Lottie glared at him. "That's not what I meant you idiot!"

"Well you weren't very specific in the first place, so I had no real idea what you meant," he replied innocently. Lottie could tell by the look on his face that he knew exactly what she meant.

"Fine, just get it over with," Lottie muttered, her head leaning on her arm impatiently.

Xerxes began to barrage her with a series of little questions. What's her favorite color, what makes her the happiest, what's her favorite food. He asked many questions that were similar to those. None too personal, and none to difficult. Every time he asked her something, he would give his own answer to the question. He even went as far as to tell stories explaining why he felt a certain way about something. In fact, he kept the conversation mostly about himself, as if he knew Lottie didn't really want to talk about herself. He wasn't being selfish about it either, if she wanted to say something he would gladly let her. It was strangely, relaxing. Lottie had never really thought she would feel like this talking to him. The way he illustrated his stories with his hands and facial expressions, it was actually kind of amusing. Even when their food came, he simply ignored it and continued to talk.

He seemed so happy to be recalling those memories that Lottie didn't think that he was the same person she had seen when she first walked up to him. She didn't want to say anything about it, but when he told her that he had stayed up doing homework, she knew that he was lying. Something else had happened that he didn't want to talk about. Not only that, he had a certain look in his eye when she had woken him up. It was sadness.

"Miss Lottie, are you there?" A purple sleeve waved in her face, catching her attention. Lottie blinked her eyes as her focus returned to the conversation at hand.

"Hmm.. Oh sorry..." Lottie mumbled, turning her head back to him. Xerxes tilted his head in confusion, but shrugged his shoulders in indifference.

"If you didn't want to hear what I have to say then you could have just said so," Xerxes whined.

Lottie glared at him and said, "I didn't say anything like that you idiot, I just got distracted that's all..."

"That's reassuring," Xerxes replied. "Well anyway, its about time that I headed out. It's getting quite late and I need to get home before a certain time." He quickly finished the rest of his food, and then handed Lottie the money to pay for everything. He stood to his feet and said, "It was nice speaking to you Lottie, do you think we can do it again?"

Lottie turned her gaze away from him and her face turned a light pink. "This wasn't too bad, so I wouldn't mind doing it again..."

Xerxes smiled, and not just one of his regular smiles, this one looked like he was genuinely happy about what she had said. "That's wonderful! Also, do you allow me to talk to you in the hallways between classes? I know how much trouble it caused you the last time, but I don't mind what they have to say about us. For all I care, we know whats going on between us so the opinions of others mean nothing. But the final decision is up to you of course."

"Uhh.. s-sure I guess so," stuttered Lottie. He knew? She hadn't really thought about his side in all of that mess. She didn't think that he would care what people other than his friends said. The people in his group were always known to stay out of everybody's business, so she thought he wouldn't have gotten word of it. She mentally slapped herself when she remembered that he was friends with Reim, and it was most likely Reim who told him about it all.

"Then I guess I'll see you on Monday, Miss Lottie," Xerxes chimed. He waved goodbye to her, and then walked away from the table. Lottie watched him as he went, and turned back to the table when finally went out of sight.

With no reason to be there anymore, Lottie waited for the waitress to return, and gave her the money that Xerxes had given her. When that business was done, Lottie herself got up, and started back towards her home. She hadn't noticed it before, but she had been there for a few hours talking with Xerxes. Never before had she talked with a person for so long without losing interest or dropping a conversation.

She wouldn't admit it to his face, but she actually had a lot of fun. He wasn't that bad of a person to talk with, and he wasn't as intolerable as she thought he would be. He was an interesting person to say the least. Even if she hadn't gotten along with him as much as she did, there still would have been a part of her who would have stuck around him for a little while. There was something that he himself was hiding, and Lottie's interest was peaked again. There was something she wanted to know. Why did he lie, and why was he so sad?

Lottie smiled to herself and thought, " _You were right Reim... This won't be so bad after all..."_


	7. Chapter 7

"Come on Miss Lottie, they really want meet you!" Xerxes whispered to me. His hands were on my arm, and he was shaking it like a child begging for something. "It's already been a month now, don't you think it's about time you met my other friends?"

A whole month had passed since that day in town. At first, it had been extremely awkward for Lottie walking with him after fifth and sixth period. People would stare, and it made her really uncomfortable. Yet Xerxes would notice this, and stare back until they left them alone. Eventually people started to get the message, and they stopped. Also, Lottie had gotten to know him a lot better now. She knew more about his personality and how he acted in certain situations. He was also more of a gentlemen then she originally thought. He would now escort her to her class instead of leaving her before he went to class so she wouldn't have to walk all alone anymore. Lottie hadn't thought much about it before, but she now realized that he was protecting her from whatever hell could come her way from them talking with each other. She found it oddly sweet...

Fang and Lily on the other hand didn't see things like that at first. They weren't as happy to have him around, and found him to be a nuisance. Xerxes would occasionally come eat with them during the lunch period, and they didn't like it at all. They could be very protective of Lottie, and objected to the fact that she was now acquainted with him. Eventually they warmed up to him, but it took some time. Even though Fang was still a bit cautious of him, they all got along fairly well.

On top of that, Xerxes was now a library aid along with Reim. Apparently he had originally signed up to be one, but a mix up had put him as an office aid. Things eventually got sorted out, and he was now where he was supposed to be. Even though he was technically an aid, he didn't do a thing. He pretty much made Reim do all his work for him, but Reim didn't really mind doing it. He was working on his own before, so Xerxes really wasn't giving him more work then he already had. He just spent the whole period talking to and teasing Lottie.

"You know how I feel about this Xerxes," Lottie replied, who tried to detach his hands from her arms. For a few weeks now he, along with Reim, had been trying to get her to meet his other friends. Lottie had told him that she didn't really like meeting new people because of obvious reasons, and he had respected her decision. At first. Now he was extremely adamant about her doing it.

"I knooow, but I promise you it won't be bad. Just think of it this way, if they can put up with me, you can get along with them," Xerxes whined quietly. "And I'll be there with you, so you don't have to be so worried about it. And I've already told them that you are a bit nervous to meet them, so they'll try their best to make you as comfortable as possible during it all."

"If I say yes, will you stop pestering me?" Lottie asked, finally giving in to him.

Xerxes perked up and replied, "Yes yes, I promise."

"Then I guess I can," Lottie mumbled reluctantly.

Xerxes almost burst with joy when she finally agreed. "Excellent! They will be so excited."

"Why do they want to meet me exactly," Lottie asked. "I'm not interesting, and they probably have more important things to do then meet me."

"Because they want to know how you can deal with me," Xerxes replied matter-of-factually. "Not many people are able to."

"I can imagine," Lottie muttered under her breath.

"I can hear you you know," Xerxes replied. "Anyway, I'm meeting up with everybody after school today. I think they would be alright with you joining us."

"I can't exactly say no now can I," Lottie replied.

Xerxes grinned and shook his head. "Nope, you have to come."

As if on cue, the bell rang signaling the end of the school day. Lottie sighed knowing what was to come in a few minutes. Xerxes simply looked pleased and packed up as quickly as he could. They waited patiently for Reim to finish, and all three of them headed out.

"Where are we going?" Lottie asked as they moved through the halls.

"To the park closest to the school," Xerxes replied. "Sharon decided that we should have a tea party today. You really did chose a good day to meet them. Everybody will be together, so we can get it over with in one day."

"Alright..." Lottie muttered, biting her lip. She couldn't help but be incredibly nervous about meeting their friends. She had heard so many stories about them, and how great of people they sounded like. Lottie was so afraid that they were just like everybody else, and would brush her off as something that she's not.

Xerxes patted her head and said, "I told you not to worry didn't I. They are going to love you, I promise. And if they don't, then that's their lose. The sweet smile he gave after that forced Lottie to turn her face away from him. Her cheeks shone bright red, and her heart was beating faster then it should have been.

" _What's wrong with me,"_ Lottie thought.  _"Why is this happening to me? I can't like him like that, we've only really just met. He's just a friend, that's it. I'm only acting this way because I'm still getting used to him. That's it, I'm just not completely used to him being so touchy just yet. That has to be it..."_

"Are you alright Lottie?" Xerxes asked. "Don't tell me you're getting sick all of a sudden. That would be such a shame."

"Huh, oh I-I'm fine," Lottie stuttered, rubbing her hands together. "I'm just a bit nervous that's all."

"Just stay next to me and you will be fine," Xerxes replied, moving his hand from her head to her shoulder.

Lottie just nodded and let herself be led to where they were going. When they stepped outside of the school building, the bright afternoon sun burned down brightly on her skin. The sky was clear of any clouds, and the day was perfect to have a tea party. After safely maneuvering their way off the school grounds, it took them about 5 minutes to reach the park that they were going to.

The park itself was a fairly large one. Most of it was an open field that had few hills obscuring it. In it's center, there was a small playground that children would play on when they visited. Trees were scattered all across the park, but there wasn't one place where they were extremely dense. Near one of the edges of the park, under one of the bigger trees, a group of people sat around a large cloth covered in various cups and pots.

The sight of so many strange people made Lottie feel anxious beyond all belief. She wanted to just turn around and leave, but she knew that she was too far into this to go back now. Xerxes must have felt her anxiety, because he pushed his shoulder into hers, and gave her a reassuring smile. It helped a little bit, and Lottie felt herself calm down just a little bit.

As they approached the group, Xerxes waved his hand and shouted, "We've made it everybody!"

Six pairs of eyes shot up from what they were doing and gazed at the source of the sudden noise. Lottie instinctively moved behind Xerxes so she wouldn't be seen as easily. Some only glanced at her, while others held a lingering stare.

"It's about time you made it Break," commented a young man with golden eyes and messy black hair.

"We almost thought you wouldn't make it," add a boy with bright green eyes and short blonde hair, a cheeky smile on his face.

"Now that's rude Oz," Xerxes answered, his voice feigning sadness. "You know I wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Enough about that Break," interrupted a girl with long caramel brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail and light pink eyes. She stood to her feet, and ran up to them. When she got to them, she gave Reim a quick hug, which he gladly returned, and then turned to glare at Xerxes.

"You know it's rude to bring someone new and not introduce them immediately," the girl snapped. She then turned to Lottie, ignoring whatever response Xerxes had for her. She smiled brightly, and grabbed both of Lottie's hands in hers.

"Hello there, you must be the Lottie that I've heard so much about," the girl chimed. "My name is Sharon Rainsworth, its a pleasure to meet you."

"Y-yeah you to," Lottie stuttered out softly, her face a light pink.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to everybody else," Sharon replied. A bit quieter she added, "And don't worry, none of us bite." Pulling Lottie along towards the group, she stopped in front of the two boys that had commented on Xerxes just moments before. They both stood to their feet and shook Lottie's hand.

"I'm Oz Vessalius, it's nice to finally be able to meet you," said the blonde boy.

"And my names Gilbert Nightray, it's a pleasure," added the golden eyed boy.

"I'm Lottie Valon," Lottie replied. "It's nice to meet you too..."

"Oh and this pretty girl sitting next to me is Echo, my girlfriend" Oz said, gesturing down at a young girl with bluish white hair and light gray eyes. Echo glanced up at Lottie with a blank look on her face, and said, "Echo is happy to meet you as well."

"I'm sure you already know Alice and Alyss over there," commented Sharon, looking at the Baskerville twins. Alice was to busy eating a piece of meat to respond, but Alyss waved back in greeting.

"Hello Lottie, it's odd to see you when you're not at the mansion," Alyss said.

"Yeah you too," Lottie replied, rubbing the back her neck nervously. She jumped when she felt a two slender hands on her shoulders. She whipped her head around, and saw Xerxes.

"Now now I think that's enough of these silly introductions, why don't we sit down and start this."

"I guess your right," Sharon replied. "The tea's going to get cold soon if we don't drink it."

Xerxes nodded in agreement, and pulled Lottie down to sit next to him. Everybody else followed suit, and sat down on the ground. Sharon picked up all the cups and started to pour out tea for everybody, while the others helped themselves to the food that was scattered around.

"Miss Lottie, would you like something to eat," Xerxes asked while he was picking out some sweets for himself.

"No thank you, I'm not really that hungry," Lottie replied.

Xerxes shrugged and said, "I guess that means there's more for me." He then proceeded to pick up twice as many pastries and stuff them in his mouth.

"Here you go Lottie," said Sharon, handing Lottie a cup of hot tea.

"Thank you Sharon," Lottie replied, carefully grabbing the cup from Sharon's hand. She studied the brown liquid for a moment before she took a small tentative sip. As the warm liquid ran down her throat, Lottie couldn't help but feel happy inside.

"What do you think?" Sharon asked.

"It's really good," Lottie replied, taking another sip from the cup.

Sharon beamed and said, "I'm so glad."

As they were drinking their tea and eating their snacks, small conversations began to sprout up. They were mostly among the others, but occasionally someone would ask something of Lottie, and she would answer the best she could. It was hard for her sometimes, but with Xerxes sitting right next to her she felt a little better about being bombarded with questions from so many people.

As time passed by, everybody finished eating and drinking, and it was decided that it was time to pack up. They all worked together to put everything up, and when everything was all packed up, they helped Sharon get it all to her car safely. When they finished, they all said goodbye to each other, and parted ways for the day. Gilbert, Echo, and Oz left together, and the Baskerville twins letf on their own. Xerxes, Reim, and Sharon had carpooled that day, and they offered to take Lottie home, but she refused them. They didn't try and force her, so they said goodbye and left Lottie alone.

On her way back home, Lottie couldn't help but feel the light on the inside. She had really enjoyed herself this afternoon even though she didn't expect to. Xerxes was right, she really didn't have anything to worry about. Everybody had been so nice and accepting of her. She was still nervous around them, but she didn't feel uneasy at all. In fact, she actually really enjoyed their company.

It all surprised her. Never before had she thought she would be friends with these people. She never though that they would care to pay attention to her, and she never thought that she would open up her heart enough to let them in. When she thought about it hard enough, she realized that it was all the fault of one person. If she hadn't met Xerxes Break, none of this would be happening. It was all because she ran into him that one day that she now had more friends then ever before. It was because of him that she was the happiest she had ever been in so long...

 


	8. Chapter 8

About a month had passed since Lottie first met Sharon and the others. All this time, she had gotten to know then better, and grew to enjoy being around them. Sharon was always very kind to her, like a sister, and whenever Xerxes would do something stupid it was Sharon who would punish him. Lottie found their relationship to be quite amusing to watch. Gilbert on the other hand was more quiet and reserved. He didn't seem like the type to get angry, but when Xerxes got him going he wouldn't hesitate to yell at him. He was extremely devoted to Oz as well, which Lottie didn't really understand. Still, she got along well with him, and would enjoy their talks about the aggravating things Xerxes did. Speaking of Oz, she felt that he was the easiest to talk to. He was really sweet when he wanted to be, but he wouldn't hesitate to tease Gilbert or Xerxes if he wanted to.

Gilbert had been to the one introduce Lottie to the others that hadn't been able to make it to the tea party. First she met both of Gilbert's younger brothers, Vincent and Elliot Nightray. The heterochromatic blonde seemed nice up front, but something about him didn't sit right with Lottie. Elliot on the other hand was incredibly outspoken and loud. He didn't hesitate to voice his opinion, and would shot down those who didn't agree with him. Lottie soon learned that both of them had another to keep them in check, so they wouldn't do anything they would regret. For Vincent, the kind and quiet Ada Vessalius, Oz's younger sister, and for Elliot, Leo Baskerville, the bookworm with the horrid temper. Lottie didn't really mind any of them, but she didn't go out of her way to get close to them.

"Lottie, you haven't been spending as much time with us anymore," whined Lily, her arms crossed over her chest. "The only time we have with you anymore is before school starts. Don't tell me you are leaving us behind!"

"Of course not Lily," Lottie responded, placing a reassuring hand on the girls head. "You guys are my best friends, and nobody can replace you guys."

"I just don't want to lose you Lottie," Lily whimpered quietly. "You're my best friend, and I don't know what I'd do if you left us behind."

Lottie felt the guilt grow in her heart when she heard how heart broken Lily sounded as she spoke. She got out of her seat and went over to Lily's pulling the girl into a tight hug. "Don't you ever think that I'll leave you guys. You've been with me through everything, and I'm sure I wouldn't be here if you hadn't of stayed by my side for this long. I guess it's just been a bit overwhelming having more friends then just you guys, and it's blinded me from seeing your pain from it all. I promise that I won't be so ignorant anymore."

Lily pushed her face into Lottie's shoulder and said, "It's ok Lottie, I know. I guess I'm just getting jealous of all the attention you are giving to other people. It used to be just us three, but now it's so many other people. I should be happy for you, cause now you have others to be happy around." She giggled and added, "And don't worry about being ignorant. I expected it from you since you're so dense."

Lottie playfully rubbed her knuckles against Lily's head, making the girl laugh even harder. "Why you little brat, you just had to go there didn't you."

"You know it's true," teased Lily who was trying to get out of Lottie's tight grasp.

"Ok ok, I'll give it to you this time," Lottie replied, releasing the squirming Lily and getting back into her seat. "I was being pretty dense."

"Look Fang she finally accepts the truth," jested Lily, dodging a weak punch from Lottie.

"It's about time," chuckled Fang. "I was getting worried that you would be like this forever."

"Not you too Fang," Lottie retorted, a sad pout on her face.

"It wouldn't be fun if I didn't join in now would it," Fang replied with a small smirk. "Anyway Lottie, don't let us weigh you down. We are both happy that you have new friends, and there is nothing we would do to ruin that."

"Fang's right," Lily chimed in. "Go make some real good friends. Oh and while your at it, get yourself a boyfriend, you need one of those." A mischievous smile crept over Lily's face as she said, "I bet Xerxes Break would be more than happy to fill that position."

Lottie's face burned and shone bright red. "D-don't be silly Lily," she stuttered. "I don't like him like that, and I can barely stand him for long periods at a time."

"The way you smile when he's around makes me think your lying Lottie," jested Lily. "Or your just being dense again."

"Ah shut it Lily," Lottie grumbled. "Anyway you know how my relationship turned out. I'm not going to make that mistake twice. Plus, even if I did like him like that, which I don't, he doesn't like me. Of that I'm certain."

"I guess I can see your point, but even though I don't like to admit it, Xerxes isn't that bad of a person" responded Lily. "And you can't know anything for sure until you've asked him about it."

"Can we just get off the subject," Lottie whispered through her teeth. "People are starting to come in, and I don't want them getting any funny ideas."

Lily nodded reluctantly. "Then I guess we'll have to finish this conversation later," she replied with a wink.

Lottie rolled her eyes, and chuckled before turning to the front of the class to wait for it to begin. As if on cue, the bell rang, and Mr. Vessalius began his lecture on the 1700's. This was one of her favorite time periods, so she was quite attentive to the lecture. She didn't even realize that an hour had passed by until the bell had rung to finish the period.

The rest of the day went by almost just as quickly. Luckily for Lottie, Lily seemed to had forgotten about what she said before, and didn't try to ask her about Xerxes again. Thinking about those types of things would make it awkward for her to be around Xerxes, and she knew he would tease her about it as well.

"Lottie, Lottie," Xerxes whispered as he poked her in the arm. Seventh period had finally rolled around, and Xerxes was once again pestering her to do something with him. "Let's go into town today!"

"Why?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Because we haven't done anything together in such a long time. Plus there's a lot of things to do there so we won't be bored," he answered. "Unless you want to go somewhere else, then that's fine too."

"No no, the city is fine," Lottie replied, her heart beating slightly faster. "It doesn't really matter to me."

"Excellent," he answered cheerfully, clasping his hands together. "We can walk there as soon as school is finished."

"Alright," Lottie replied. "What are you planning on making me do when we get there."

"You don't have to put it that way you know," he answered. "And to answer your question, I don't know. I was just planning on walking around, and hopefully finding something fun to do."

"You not having a plan, that sounds about right," Lottie replied, earning her a light punch in the shoulder.

"Well it's not like I have all the answers," Xerxes answered her playfully. The banter between the two continued until the bell finally rang. They quickly packed up their things, and left the library. They passed by Reim, saying good-bye. Lottie asked if he wanted to join them, but he told them that he already had plans with Sharon today. With that answer, Xerxes and Lottie left him to finish his work, and left for the city.

As soon as they stepped outside of the school, a gust of freezing wind blew threw Lottie, making her shiver. Late fall weather was starting to take effect, and soon Reveille would be covered in snow. Even though she had thickest coat on, the cold was still able to get through, and it was torture.

"Here have my coat," Xerxes said as he slipped his jacket off and slid it onto Lottie's shoulders. "You seem to need it more then me."

"B-but aren't you cold too," she stuttered in response. Lottie tried to take the coat off, but Xerxes' hands were firmly planted, and wouldn't let her remove it.

"I have another on underneath for times like this," Xerxes answered with a chuckle. "Plus, I don't really mind the cold at all, so I'm fine. Really."

"Oh... Alright then. Thanks."

The journey there was peaceful. They had stopped teasing each other long enough to hold a normal conversation. They spoke of simple things, like how school was going, and what they couldn't wait for in the future. It was easy for Lottie to talk to him like this, and it was times like these that she really enjoyed.

"So Lottie, what do you plan on doing when you get out of high school," Xerxes asked all of a sudden.

"I was planning on going to the local college," Lottie answered. "It would be less expensive to leave Reveille, and the only way I'll even be able to go to college is by getting a lot of scholarships."

" Well if you try hard enough then you will definitely make it Lottie," Xerxes replied patting her head gently. "I believe in you."

"Yeah... thanks," she replied, turning her head away from him in embarrassment.

"It would seem that we're here," Xerxes proclaimed as they entered the downtown area. "Now, what would you like to do."

"Can we just walk around?" Lottie asked. "Maybe we can find something to do."

"If that's what you want to do, then I'll be glad to follow," agreed Xerxes. "If there is anywhere you want to go in, just say so. Actually wait right here." He placed his hands on Lottie's shoulders and ushered her over to a small antique store. "I want to go in here really quick. You stay out here, I won't be long."

"What if I want to go in too?" she retorted, her hands crossed over her chest.

Xerxes put his finger over his mouth in a shushing motion, and answered, "Because it's a surprise." With that, he turned and went into the shop, leaving Lottie alone on the sidewalk.

She sighed and leaned on the shops brick wall. While she was waiting for Xerxes to finish she watched the people as they passed. Because of the cold, there were few people out, but there were still none the less. An elderly couple, and mother and child, a few younger couples, and a some loners. All were consumed in their own little worlds, ignore all the others that they passed on the way to their destination.

Lottie felt a certain calmness from watching them go about their day, but that calmness was soon shattered when loud, lumbering footsteps thumbed towards her. She glanced over to the side and saw a man not too older than her stumbling on the side walk. The red tinge to his face, and they way he walked were obvious indicators that the man was drunk. He was inching closer to her, and Lottie wanted to run away more then anything. The only thing holding her in place was the fact that Xerxes might worry if she was missing when he came out, and the hope that if she was quite enough, the man would walk right past her.

Her hopes were immediately dashed when the man looked up and a strange look adorned his face. Lottie was going to run, but she wasn't fast enough. The man had lunged over towards her, latching his hand around her wrist, and pushing her against the wall.

"Why look at this pretty little lady we have here," mumbled out the man, the alcohol on his breath making Lottie cough in disgust. "Hard to believe that you would be out here all alone."

"Get the hell off of me you drunk bastard," Lottie hissed at the man. His grin instantly dropped, and the pressure on her wrist increase.

"That's no way to talk to a man," he growled, pushing his whole body against hers, crushing her. "If I were you I'd take that back."

"No way in hell," Lottie spat. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking for someone to shout at for help, but all the people she had seen before were gone. The streets were deserted. Just her luck.

Tears began to form in Lottie's eyes as the man's face moved closer to her own. She tried to get away, but she wasn't strong enough to break his grip. She would have kicked him, but her legs were pinned to the wall as well. All she could do was close her eyes and hope for a miracle. All of a sudden, the weight that was on her disappeared, and she heard a grunt of pain come from the man. Lottie opened her eyes, and saw Xerxes standing there, his hand gripped tightly on the man's shirt collar. The look on his face was one that Lottie had never seen on him before. It was pure rage.

"That is no way to treat a lady," Xerxes said, his voice dark and low. "Maybe I should teach you."

The man said nothing in return, he just spat at Xerxes, who easily dodged it. Xerxes threw the man to the ground, and looked away from him. He ran up to Lottie, his eyes full of worry.

"You aren't hurt are you?" he asked hastily. He patted her head, and grabbed her wrist, examining the newly forming bruise "He didn't do anything to you?"

"No I'm fine," Lottie replied, shaking her hand from his. "Don't worry, these will heal."

"That doesn't mean anything," he replied solemnly, his head held low. "If I hadn't of come soon, something worse could have happened. This whole thing could have been avoided if I hadn't of told you to stay out here like an idiot!"

"Don't blame yourself, this isn't your fault," Lottie answered. "It's mine for not running in the first place. So please, don't pu-"

Lottie stopped suddenly when she saw the man starting to get up behind Xerxes. Words wouldn't form, and all she could do was point at him to tell Xerxes. Before he could turn around though, the man had already gotten to his feet, put his hand on Xerxes shoulder, and whipped him around to face him. With a quick motion the man punched Xerxes in his left eye.

"Xerxes!" Lottie screamed in horror as he grunted him pain, and fell to his knee's while clutching his left eye. The man started to laugh because of his accomplishment, but almost as quickly as he got up he fell back down unconscious. His drunkenness had finally caught up to him.

Seeing that the man had fallen unconscious and was no longer a threat, Lottie knelt down beside Xerxes and put a hand on his back. His body was curled in on itself, and he moaned quietly from the pain.

"Xerxes are you OK?" Lottie asked, rubbing his back gently. He looked up at her, and she could see how tired he was from his one showing eye. It didn't make sense to her at first. Why would he be so exhausted from just a small tussle like that. She hadn't noticed it at first, but the blood that seeped heavily through Xerxes' fingers gave her the answer she was looking for.

"Your bleeding badly!" she gasped as she desperately looked for something to help clean up the blood. There was so much of it that the hair that was normally on the eye was bright red. Lottie found a small bag of tissues in her bag, and started ripping them out to try and clean the wound.

All the time while she was doing this, Xerxes had been surprisingly calm. Even though he was in great pain, he wasn't screaming or crying out. He was just sitting there as if he were in deep thought. Before Lottie could start cleaning the blood away, Xerxes held her wrist gently, telling her to stop.

"Lottie, that's not going to help," He mumbled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Here. Call Reim with this. Tell him what's happened, and he'll come. And... do hurry... Lottie." His voice drifted off as his eye closed slowly, and his body went limp. Lottie quickly caught him before he could hit the ground, and took the phone from his hand. She wiped away the tears that had started to fall, and whispered.

"Xerxes... don't die... you can't..."


	9. Chapter 9

The events that happened after that seemed to blur together. Lottie called Reim as was somehow able to tell him what happened even though she was babbling through her tears. She wasn't aware of how much time had passed, but Reim and Sharon soon arrived to the scene. Lottie could remember Sharon shouting and starting to cry herself, and Reim trying his hardest to stay calm. Reim had easily picked up Xerxes and put him into Sharon's car, and Sharon pulling Lottie along with her, and pushing her into the back seat.

When they arrived at the hospital, Reim took Xerxes in while Sharon kept Lottie outside with her. She tried to get what had happened out of Lottie, but Lottie could barely speak, and that was making it difficult. After calming her down a bit, Sharon was finally able to get her to talk, and was horrified when she learned the truth.

Reim came back out a few moments later to tell the two girls that Xerxes was going to be fine, he just was just suffering from blood loss. Sharon was satisfied with this, and decided that she would go home and tell her grandmother what had happened before she got worried. Reim told her that he would stay and watch over Lottie, and give her any news about Xerxes condition if it happened to change.

With Sharon gone, Lottie was left alone with Reim in the waiting room until they were allowed to see Xerxes. She sat in her chair, her hands shaking from her anxiety. She felt like she would shake herself to death, but Reim placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Lottie, it's alright," consoled Reim. "He's going to be fine. Trust me."

"I know Reim, I know," Lottie sighed. "But that doesn't make me feel any better about this. I could have stopped this. If only I hadn't of gotten so scared I would have been able to warn him."

"Stop beating yourself up about this," Reim replied. "Xerxes won't blame you for this, so you should do the same."

"But-"

"No," interjected Reim. "You didn't do this. The drunk did. Xerxes knows that and so do I, so stop. Blaming yourself won't make him feel any better."

Lottie sighed and answered, "OK Reim." She turned to him and looked him straight in the eyes and asked the question that had been eating her alive through this whole ordeal. "Reim, why is there so much blood."

Reim's eyes lit up in surprise, and turned away from her before answering. "I can't tell you."

"What do you mean you can't tell me?" Lottie snapped.

"It isn't my place to," Reim answered in a solemn tone. "This is something Xerxes needs to tell you, not me. It's up to him when he decides to tell you Lottie, but be patient with him. There are things that he doesn't like to tell others, and this is one of them."

Lottie looked back down at her hands and thought,  _"So he has some secrets too huh?"_ Without looking back up at Reim she asked, "Do you think he will tell me if I ask him?"

Reim smiled and answered. "I think that if the time is right, he will tell you. You know how dramatic he can be. He wants the moment to be just right. Right now? I don't think so. But in time, yes I do believe he will tell you what you want to know."

"Thank you Reim," Lottie whispered. Their conversation died down, and Lottie continued to fiddle with the coat that Xerxes had lent to her until a doctor came and told them that Xerxes was now awake. He said that only one person could visit him at a time.

"Lottie you go ahead," Reim said. "He doesn't need to see me, and if he's awake already he must be fine."

"You're going to walk back home?" Lottie asked.

"Well not back home, but to my work," Reim answered. "My boss is my god father, so I'll be able to get a ride with him when heads home later tonight."

"Oh ok," Lottie replied. "Be safe."

"I will, I promise," Reim said. "You do the same." With those parting words, Reim waved good-bye and left Lottie on her own.

Following the doctor, Lottie went through many different winding hallways before finally reaching the door that had Xerxes name on it. The doctor told her that he was still a bit weak and might not be awake anymore before leaving her and going back to his work. Taking a deep breath before entering the room, Lottie pushed open the door and entered quietly

The room was simple. It was small, and nearly everything in it was a bright white. The room only contained one thin hospital bed, and small desk and chair next to it. Outside the window one could see the street, and watch the cars as they passed by.

Xerxes looked as if he were asleep. His eye was closed, and his face was serene. His hair was still slightly matted from where the blood was, but it was back to it's normal white color now. His left eye was covered by thick bandages that wrapped around his head.

Lottie's felt her heart fall as she watched him lie there. Even though he seemed so peaceful, she knew that he must still be miserable. Walking over to his bedside, Lottie moved the chair so she could sit down next to him. As she sat down, Xerxes eye flickered open and when he glanced over at her, he smiled.

"I though I heard someone coming in," he mumbled weakly. "I'm happy to see you Lottie."

"I'm glad to see you're alright," Lottie whispered. "I was so worried about you."

"Ah I'll be OK," Xerxes chuckled. "I've been through worse." His smile dropped, and he raised a hand to touch the bandages. "You must be curious about this Lottie."

"I would be lying if I said no," Lottie replied. "I asked Reim about it, but he said that you would tell me when the time is right, so I won't bug you about it."

"Thank you," he mumbled softly, staring up at the ceiling. "We both have secrets that we don't want to tell Lottie." His eyes moved to her and he smiled. "Let's promise that one day we'll tell each other what we are hiding. Everything."

"Yeah... yeah I promise," Lottie answered hesitantly.

"Good," Xerxes replied. "I'll remember this, so you can't go back on your word."

"I get it you moron," Lottie retorted, punching him playfully in the arm.

Xerxes chuckled and leaned his head back, shutting his eyes. "I'm sorry to cut this short Lottie, but I'm exhausted."

"No I understand," Lottie answered. "You need your rest if you're going to get better quickly."

"You better come and visit me," Xerxes added. "It's going to boring here fast, and I'm going to need someone to entertain me."

"If I have time I'll come alright," Lottie answered, standing to her feet.

"That's good enough for me," he replied. His voice trailed off, and his breathing slowed down. He had fallen asleep.

Lottie smiled at how innocent and peaceful he looked before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. It took some time, but she was able to find her way out of the hospital. Moving quickly, Lottie headed back home before her father got back. If she didn't get home before he did, she would get in a whole lot of trouble.

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Lottie went to visit Xerxes nearly every day after that. On school days she would hitch a ride with Reim and Sharon, who also went to visit Xerxes everyday. On the weekends she would walk there herself since the hospital was only about a 20 minute walk from her house.

It had been over a week since Xerxes was first admitted to the hospital. His strength returned quickly, and that caused him to become increasingly bored. His bandages were completely removed, and he no longer had to wear them. He insisted that he was better, but the doctors told him that they need to make sure that the wound wouldn't open back up so they were keeping him a few extra days. This irritated him, and if it weren't for Lottie and the others, he would have made the staff's lives hell.

"Lottie I'm finally getting out of this place," Xerxes exclaimed joyfully when Lottie visited him on Sunday. "They are going to let me out!"

"That's great," Lottie replied, a large smile spreading across her face. "That means I don't have to walk here anymore."

"So you're more excited about being lazy then me actually getting out," pouted Xerxes. "That's so mean of you Lottie."

Lottie rolled her eyes and answered, "Of course I'm happy that you're going to be released you idiot. That means you're finally all better, and I don't have to worry about you."

"You worried about little 'ole me, how sweet of you."

"Of course I was you moron," Lottie retorted, her cheeks heating up. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh I'm just teasing you Lottie," chuckled Xerxes. Suddenly, his smile fell, and he stared at Lottie. "Can I see your hand?"

Ever since that day, Xerxes had been acting stranger then usual he would ask to check the hand that the drunk man had bruised, and constantly looked at it when they were talking sometimes. It was almost like he had an obsession with it. Lottie didn't mind at first since she thought he was just worried about her, but the bruise had cleared up already and he was still checking it.

Reluctantly, Lottie put her hand into Xerxes. His slender fingers glided gently over her skin as he looked at the place where the bruise was. When he was satisfied, he let go of her hand, and his normal smile came back.

The rest of the day they spent talking with each other, and bickering back and forth occasionally. He asked her about how her day had been so far and if she had any problems. She would ask him what he's done to make the staff angry today, and he would tell her as many stories as he possibly could. They were so focused on each other that they didn't even realize how much time had passed. Things were going fine until Xerxes doctor came in and told Lottie that visiting hours were over and she had to leave.

The color drained from Lottie's face. Xerxes noticed this and asked, "Lottie what's the matter?"

"I have to get home, I'm late" was all that Lottie said in response. She quickly got from her seat and tried to run, but Xerxes held her back.

"Lottie, why are you rushing so badly. I've never seen you like this. What's the matter?"

"It's nothing OK," Lottie snapped, ripped her arm from his grip. "I told you I have to get home."

Without waiting for an answer, Lottie dashed out of the room. Running passed doctors and nurses, Lottie made it out of the hospital with no problems. She sped down the streets, and tried to get home as quickly as possible. Her lungs burned, but she couldn't stop until she made it back. She was already late, but the sooner she got home, the less she would have to deal with. Hopefully.

She could barely breath when she finally made it to her front door. Her heart was beating rapidly, not just from running for so long, but from fear. Every part of her want to stay out the night and not deal with the hell that was sure to come, but she knew the punishment would be worse if she did.

Opening the door as quietly as possible, Lottie crept into the building and tried to sneak her way to the stairs. Her father wasn't anywhere to be found, so she thought she was in the clear. She wasn't that lucky at all. Sitting on the stairs with a bottle in his hand, her father's glazed eyes lit up when they landed on her. She could see the anger in his eyes, and they petrified her.

"What did I tell you about getting home so late," he asked, standing up unsteadily. "You know when, you should be home."

"I know but I-"

"Don't talk back to me," he screamed, throwing the bottle to the ground, the shattering making Lottie flinch. He stumbled up to her and clasped his hand tightly on Lottie's wrist. It was the same one that had been injured previously, so the pressure was twice as painful. It took all of her power to not whimper in torment.

"You are supposed to get back by a certain time, and that isn't questionable," her father continued. With one swift motion, he threw Lottie into the wall. She fell to the ground, and he slammed his foot on her other wrist, making her scream.

"Don't think that you can disobey me you worthless child," He screamed, pushing down even harder. "You live under my roof, and that means you follow my rules. Now get out of my sight." The pressure on her wrist was finally relieved, but the pain was still there. Lottie didn't look up, and only knew that he was gone from his heavy footsteps fading into the background. With all the strength that she had, she forced herself up the stair case and into her room. She immediately went to her bed and fell into it's soft embrace.

She didn't want to cry, but there was nothing she could do to hold it back. Warm tears fell down her now red face, and she cried out loud into the safety of her pillow. Every part of her hurt. Her body. Her heart. Her mind. She was so out of it that she began to ramble.

"I want- I want to go- see Xerxes again," she stuttered out through her tears. "I don't want- want to be here anymore. He- He makes everything- better. I want him- to take me away." She was already have unconscious as she spoke those words, and she barely knew what she was speaking. As she rambled on and on, her eyes began to grow heavy, and she let her mind fall into a deep sleep.

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When she woke up the next morning, Lottie's body was still incredibly sore, and her wrists were still throbbing. She groaned, not wanting to get up, but she knew she had. She still had little strength in her, and it was torture getting ready for the day. She made sure to wear longer sleeves so that the bruises couldn't be seen. Brushing her hair and teeth felt like someone was driving nails into her hands, and she could barely finish.

After getting all her things together, Lottie snuck her way out of the house without making a lunch for herself like she usually did. She just wanted to get out of that place as quickly as she possibly could. She just wanted to be with Lily and Fang, and Xerxes.

When she finally arrived on the school grounds, she realized that she had gotten there very early. There were few people wandering the halls, and most of the classrooms were still locked. Lottie sighed, and decided that she would just walk around until she could get into her homeroom.

As she walked around aimlessly, Lottie tried to push all the thoughts of last night as far away as possible. She didn't want to think about it. Nothing could change the past, so didn't find any reason to linger on the thought anymore. Yet, she couldn't let go of them no matter how hard she tried.

"Lottie?" She heard a familiar voice come from behind her. She turned to see Xerxes, his eye full of concern.

"I didn't expect to see you here so early," Lottie replied.

"I came early to see you," he answered, walking up to her. "You ran out so suddenly yesterday, and you looked terrified. Lottie, what had you so spooked?"

"It was nothing," Lottie replied curtly. "Just leave me be, I want to be alone right now." She began to walk away from him, but he grabbed her wrist. It wasn't tight, but it was enough to make her flinch from the pain. This shocked Xerxes, but he didn't let go. Before Lottie could get away from him, he quickly took her sleeve and rolled it up. His eye showed pure horror when he saw the bruise.

"Lottie, how did this happen," Xerxes asked, his voice far more serious then Lottie had heard before, and it scared her. "Who did this to you."

"It's none of your business," Lottie snapped, shacking his hand off of her.

"Of course it's my business," Xerxes retorted, his teeth clenched. "I won't allow you to get hurt like this!"

"Oh you don't allow me?" Lottie spat back. "You don't have control over me like that Xerxes."

"That's not what I meant Lottie!" Xerxes snapped, his voice starting to crack. There was a sadness in his eye, but Lottie was too angry to notice.

"I don't care what you meant, you've already said what you need to," Lottie replied. She turned away from him and started to walk away. "Just leave me alone, my business is my own, and nobody else."

"Lottie, wait!," Xerxes begged, but she didn't listen. She left him hurt, and even more confused then before.


End file.
